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Just how much alcohol awareness do you think you have? Take a minute and test your knowledge, see how much you know or don’t know and maybe even learn a little bit. 

How many people in the U.S. die each year from the effects of alcohol?

• a) 50,321 
• b) 140,557 
• c) 95,678 
• d) 210,564

During the COVID-19 lockdown, what percentage of Americans increased their alcohol use?

• a) 10% 
• b) 30.5% 
• c) 60.1% 
• d) 75%

Alcohol use, even in low amounts, is a leading cause of seven types of cancer.

• True   
• False

Alcohol calms anxiety.

• True   
• False

Binge drinking means consuming four or more "standard" drinks for women and five or more for men.

• True   
• False

High-intensity drinking is less dangerous than binge drinking.

• True   
• False

One "standard" drink means 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, 1.5 ounces or a shot of distilled spirits.

• True   
• False

What do your answers to these questions mean?

Do you drink more than you intended? 

• Yes   
• No

Do you continue to drink even though it makes you feel depressed or anxious or adds to another health problem? 

• Yes   
• No

Does drinking interfere with your daily activities?

• Yes   
• No

Has any loved one or trusted friend commented about your drinking? 

• Yes   
• No

Do you drink more than you used to in order to get the effect you want?

• Yes   
• No

Have you tried to cut down or stop, but can’t?

• Yes   
• No

Do you spend a lot of time drinking or thinking about alcohol?

• Yes   
• No

Have you had legal problems due to drinking?

• Yes   
• No

Have you experienced symptoms of withdrawal when you don't drink (such as shakiness, sweating, tremors, headaches, anxiety, irritability, and/or insomnia)?  

• Yes   
• No

Bonus question: How many "standard" drinks do you think are in a half pint of spirits? A pint? A fifth? A bottle of wine? 

Let’s see how alcohol aware you are! The answers:

1. B. 140,557 people die each year from the effects of alcohol.  Every day, 385 Americans die as a result of excessive alcohol use. Causes include car crashes, suicides, homicides, heart disease, neurotological disease, liver disease, alcohol poisoning, other chronic causes and other acute causes. 
2. C. 60.1% of people reported increased alcohol use during the pandemic. Alcohol sales soared. According to a study published in November 2024 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, not only did alcohol use increase, it remained elevated after the pandemic ended.
3. True. According to the 2025 U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory: Alcohol and Cancer Risks, “Cumulatively, rigorous research, across observational, biological, and genetic studies, has shown that alcohol consumption increases the risk of cancer for at least seven sites: breast (in women), colorectum, esophagus, liver, mouth (oral cavity), throat (pharynx), and voice box (larynx).”
4. False. Drinking alcohol sometimes seems like a helpful way to ease your anxiety, but the effects are only temporary. Once the drink is gone, the temporary ease you get goes away. And you may actually feel even worse.
5. True. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08% — or 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter — or more. This typically happens if a woman has four or more drinks, or a man has five or more drinks, within about two hours.
6. False. High-intensity drinking is a more dangerous pattern of alcohol use. It involves consuming double the amount of a binge drinking episode. That means eight or more consecutive drinks for women and 10 or more drinks in a row for men.
7. True. According to The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, one “standard” drink (or one alcoholic drink equivalent) contains roughly 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is found in: 

• 12 ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol)
• 8-10 ounces of malt liquor or flavored malt beverages such as hard seltzer (7% alcohol)
• 5 ounces of table wine (12% alcohol)
• 3-4 ounces of fortified wine (17% alcohol)
• 2-3 ounces of cordial, liqueur, aperitif (40% alcohol)
• 1.5 ounces of brandy or cognac (40% alcohol)
• 1.5 ounces or a shot of distilled spirits — gin, rum, tequila, vodka, whiskey (40% alcohol)

If you happened to answer yes to one or more of these questions, talk with your health care provider or a mental health professional about your alcohol use. You could benefit from the support of Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group.

Bonus question answers: A half pint is 4.5 drinks, a pint is 8.5 drinks, a fifth is 17 drinks, a bottle of wine is 5 drinks.

How did you do? Are you surprised by your alcohol awareness? Did you learn anything new?

Remember, it’s OK to ask for help if you think your drinking is problematic because excessive alcohol use can have so many immediate and long-term effects. You have the ability to lower your health risks by drinking or choosing not to drink at all.  

— Jude Vereyken, LMSW, CAADC, ACSW, is a clinical social worker/owner of JD’s Midlife Tools For Living Practices LLC. Jude can be reached at jude@midlifetoolsforliving.com. 

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